Detroit Free Press Business Writer

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Cadillac’s U.S. chief Bill Peffer has left General Motors after less than a year in a job that has seen a lot of turnover.

Peffer’s surprise resignation for personal reasons came late Tuesday, less than 10 months after he left a job as CEO of Nissan Australia to take the job at GM.

Kurt McNeil, head of U.S. sales operations, takes over as Cadillac interim vice president of sales and service, said spokesman David Caldwell. It is a role McNeil is familiar with because he held it until 2012.

Peffer is the third Cadillac sales chief to leave in two years and his resignation occurred amid turmoil. The automaker has lost many executives in the ignition switch recall scandal. Peffer’s departure is not related to the recall.

Peffer began working at GM in October 2013, replacing Chase Hawkins who was dismissed after 13 months for a policy violation.

Cadillac has been on a slow turnaround for a decade. Sales were up 22% in 2013, but have fallen 2% this year through May. Sales of the ATS compact sedan slowed considerably.

Since October 2012, Bob Ferguson had been leading Cadillac’s global expansion, but he was reassigned to Washington, D.C., to deal with the ramifications of the ignition switch recall. There is speculation Ferguson will remain in Washington permanently, but Caldwell said no decisions have been made to his knowledge.